1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a file device for filing thin sheets of recording medium, such as photographic pictures, slides, medical specimen plates, floppy discs and the like. More particularly, the present invention pertains to a file device for filing file sheets having dust covers.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The Japanese patent application Sho 63-241935 filed on Sep. 27, 1988 and disclosed for public inspection on Mar. 29, 1990 under the disclosure number Hei-02-089699 discloses a file sheet adapted for filing thin recording sheets such a photographic slides. The file sheet is made of a thin plastic sheet formed with recesses adapted for receiving the slides. A plurality of such file sheets are bound in suitable binding covers with photographic slides fitted to the recesses of the sheets or that the slides are filed in a readily accessible manner.
In binding such file sheets, file covers having binding rings provided at appropriate spacings may be used. The file sheets may then be formed along an edge portion with binding holes with spacings equal to the spacings of the binding rings so that the binding rings are fitted to the binding holes in the file sheets. This type of file sheet binding device is advantageous in that the file sheets can be added as desired. It should however be noted that in order to bind an additional file sheet the rings are at first opened and the file sheet is engaged at the binding holes with the rings thus opened. Thereafter, the rings are closed to hold the file sheet together with previously bound file sheets. Thus, binding an additional file sheet requires a troublesome task.
Another problem encountered in the aforementioned sheet binding device is that turning over the file sheets is not convenient. More specifically, in this type of binding device, the binding rings are generally of a large size so that a large number of file sheets can be accommodated. The binding rings of such large size have a tendency of making turning over the file sheets difficult because the file sheet may have a tendency of sticking to the binding rings by being inclined with respect to the row of the binding rings.
In the Japanese utility model application Sho 61-171910 filed on Nov. 11, 1986 and disclosed for public inspection on May 23, 1988 under the disclosure number Sho 63-77782, there is disclosed a filing device for filing file sheets. In this filing device, each film sheet is provided with a dust cover which is in the form of an envelope adapted to cover both sides of the file sheet. As in the file device of the Japanese patent application Sho 63-241935, the file device of the Japanese utility model application is adapted to use a file cover having binding rings. The file sheet is therefore formed along one edge with binding holes for engagement with the binding rings.
The dust cover in the utility model is formed along an edge portion with cutouts which are located at positions corresponding to the positions of the binding holes in the file sheet. The filing device of the utility model has disadvantages which the filing device of the aforementioned Japanese patent application has. Besides, the filing device is disadvantageous in that the cutouts in the dust cover must be aligned with the binding holes in the file sheet before the file sheet is filed in the file cover. In order to take out a recording medium such as a slide film stored in the file sheet, it is necessary to remove the dust cover from the file sheet. For the purpose, the file sheet must be removed from the file cover each time the recording medium is to be taken out.